Hang W/ And Upfront Debut Contrasting Approaches To Monetizing Social Media For Superfans

As musicians transform into stars, they begin to receive a lot of attention at varying levels of intensity. How to find a way to make things personal yet focus on superfans is a difficulty. Hang W/ and Upfront offer solutions that monetize social media and networks with an emphasis on videos and exclusive content.

Hang W/ and Upfront are possible exceptions to the rule that artists should keep fan relationships in-house for closer connections. There are circumstances in which third party platforms can be powerful, such as Twitter and Facebook, or can offer a service that doesn't fit well on an artist's official site, such as advertising or subscription-supported content.

Hang W/ Monetizes Video Networking With Ads

Hang w/ is a mobile video network in which members livestream, post videos and interact. A number of musicians have gotten involved lately including Kaskade and Timbaland.

Monetization for broadcasters is achieved through a cut in ad revenue.

The overall feel of the free mobile app suggests that Hang W/ stars could emerge just as they have on YouTube.

Traffic reports as of early May were excellent with the claim that Hang w/ "has accrued 100,000 users, including several notable celebrities, and 2 million user sessions over the past six weeks." Becoming a place to go for video entertainment rather than a platform for siloed accounts is the strong play here and they seem well on their way.

Upfront Offers Subscriptions To Multimedia Content & Contact

Upfront recently launched to provide a private network and celebrity broadcasting offering with paid subscriptions and no ads.

Paid tiers for each artist or celeb start at .99 or $3.99 a month, with different levels of exclusive content, and $5.99 a month including "regular live webcasts and in-person events just for you."

Upfront also makes use of multiple communication channels:

"We are the first platform that allows influencers to connect not just through
our apps and web platform but also by phone, SMS, and email."

Revenue sharing is described as following a "standard 70/30 split, and Upfront will cover the costs associated with sending out messages from its 30 percent take."

Different Solutions for Different Needs

Hang W/ shows a lot of promise because it's easy to try out free. Ad-supported media tends towards low revenues per stream but if established as a special channel can build up viewership over time.

More established artists could consider something like Upfront especially if they're willing to commit to regular involvement and will promote Upfront or a similar solution as the sole place to get that kind of content and have closer contact. Upfront may work well for fan club and superfan-oriented content.

But whether one takes the ad-supported broadcast model or the subscription fan club route, both solutions employ revenue sources that might not work as well on an official music site but could be unlocked offsite.